A political song duel

Western political campaign managers create catchy slogans. Russian political activists create music videos. On 26 January, the Russian web saw the appearance of a new online political campaigning phenomenon.

A music video by former Russian paratroopers became an overnight sensation and fired up the web with more than a million hits in just a few days:

Here’s a translation of some of the lyrics:

"If you're a good citizen, if you're the President,
there's the Law and there are some restrictions that apply to you:

You may not steal the nation's money, and you should not ever lie to your people
Be open to the public, be accountable for what you say

Had 8 years as a President, but now you're a candidate again!Now look into our eyes, and drop your nomination now!

We trusted you, but you lied to us for so many years, using your old KGB tactics"

"You're just like me, a man not a god. I'm just like you, a man not a sod." sing the veterans of the élite military unit.

It is worth noting that the paratroopers are elite Russian forces, highly regarded by society. Overnight, the song became a symbol of the protest movement and the band was invited to perform at the anti-Putin rally on 4th February.

However, a few days later, another music video, this time hailing Vladimir Putin as Russia’s saviour, lit up the web.

The pop song, named "V.V.P." after Putin's initials, is performed by the previously unknown Tajik singer Tolibzhon Kurbankhanov. It refers to the prime minister as "heaven-sent" and the "savior of the people »

The "exquisite" lyrics against the backdrop of a Russian flag read: “let’s remember together those years when we had nothing…. and then God sent him…and now we don’t have any debt… V.V.P saved the country… V.V.P is defending us… V.V.P saved the nation…”

The song has become a laughing stock of the Russian blogosphere, with some of the influential opposition bloggers suggesting that it might be a “Kremlin creation”.

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FRANCE 24 journalist Vladimir Smekhov was born in the Soviet Union. For the last 5 years, he has been closely following Russian politics. Fluent in Russian, English and French, he aims to share the insights into the riveting world of Russian politics with FRANCE 24’s audiences. Real time.